Owner charged with cruelty to animals

Members of the Animal Rescue League of Boston and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals worked to rescue 35 cold and emaciated animals from an unlicensed petting zoo in Ludlow over the weekend.

Other animals, which included pigs and alpacas, were brought to the MSPCA's Nevins Farm facility in Methuen.

Dean Manual, 43, of Ludlow, faces up to 36 counts of animal cruelty and additional pending charges for assaulting an officer and resisting arrest.

ARL officials said while they and the MSPCA tended to the animals Friday night, many neighbors expressed concern for the health and welfare of the animals, and asked how to go about contributing to their care.